--- In
DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, Robert Wayne wrote:
>
> I would appreciate some good advice from anyone on how to remove the front sprocket
without screwing something up. Can't seem to lock things down enough to break the nut
loose!!!! It must have had a bunch of foot pounds put on it. Thanks a lot..... robert
Okay, first of all, you did flatten out the washer behind that big nut, right? If you don't do
that, you're gonna have problems

.
Okay, washer is nice and flat. So here's what I do. First, put the bike in neutral and lean it
on the side stand. Then assemble the correct tools. I have a piece of 4-foot galvanized
steel pipe, and a half-inch ratchet with the correct socket. I get on bike and lean it to the
right. I place the ratchet on the nut, then slide the 4-foot steel pipe over the handle of the
ratchet. I position the ratchet and the end of the pipe so that I can pull up while sitting on
the seat. Then, while keeping a little pressure on the pipe/ratchet combo to keep them on
the nut, I carefully lean the bike back onto its kickstand, place my left foot on the left
footpeg and my right foot on the rear brake pedal, and lift up the end of that big cheater
pipe while slowly standing up on the peg/rear brake. It'll feel rubbery due to the cush
damper in the rear hub and the chain slack, but just keep pulling on that pipe, and
eventually the nut itself will break loose. It'll take more torque than you expect, but it'll be
less of an abrupt break than you expect too (thanks to all that rubber damping) . You may
need to repeat this a few times before the nut is easy enough to remove without the
cheater pipe. Or maybe not (shrug).
Or if you have access to an impact wrench... but my guess is that if you had access to an
impact wrench, you wouldn't be asking us this question

.
Don't worry about breaking the chain, BTW. Common chains used on the KLR will hold up
to several thousand pounds of pressure. You are going to be at most putting 150 foot-
pounds of torque onto this chain. It isn't breaking, no way, no how, even with a four-foot
cheater pipe. And if it does break, it's defective and you're better off with a new chain
anyhow

.